Kanter VS. Valanciunas

First of let me say that I love JV as a player and I love his upside. That being said,there have been a few posts involving that draft year where people straight dog Kanter when comparing the two. Here are both of their Per 36 numbers.

We have seen a very small sample size of Kanter in the two years he's been in the league, while Jonas was a starter for the Raptors as a rookie.
This is the year Kanter will get the chance to prove if he can produce as a full-time starter.

Right now Jonas is the safer bet - we have seen how he has improved over the year and what he can do as a starter, Kanter is a bit of an Enigma. It has to be said though, that Kanter is actually younger than Valanciunas, despite having been in the legue one more year.

JV has been getting hyped a bit more since we saw him recently at summer league and he looked to have added quite a bit more muscle to his frame and showed improved footwork with his back to the basket. He's a good bet to break out and average close to a double-double this season with solid efficiency. Haven't heard much about Kanter this summer but he had flashes of dominance last season and will have plenty of minutes now to show what he can do on a nightly basis.

I'd pick Kanter between the 2 because he's a better rebounder and is a year younger but you can't really go wrong with either

For this year I think Kanter may show the most progress yet I think Valanciunas will be the better player in the long term. Kanter will likely be a bit better offensively yet will not be nearly as dominant as Valanciunas on D. Although for this year both players have starting opportunities and a chance to get 32-mpg but Toronto has two good perimeter scorers Derozan, and Gay whereas Utah lost Millsap and Jefferson and Kanter will have more opportunity to fill a production void.

No doubt imo Kanter is currently the better scorer and rebounded yet Valanciunas is the better defender and better intangibles.

Kanter will probably start from day 1 this year. I've liked what I've seen from him, he's very strong and a hardworker. Has a chance to win the MIP award. It's close but I'll take Kanter. JV getting hyped up because he dominated weak competition at the SL. Hasn't proven much in an actual NBA regular season game.

JV also gets hype because of his INTL play. He has dominated when playing with the Lithuania team.

The Kanter-JV comparison is interesting. The Jazz wont be very good next season, which could either help or hurt Kanter next year. It can be easier to produce on a bad team, but then again Kanter isn't about to create his own shot. He's someone who benefits from floor spacing and guard play-not sure if Utah will be able to give him that.

Meanwhile, JV is playing on a talent team. So the reverse applies to him. He won't touch the ball as much, but benefits from the attention that his wings demand.

Kanter can create his own offense, better than JV IMO. His footwork and use of fakes are fantastic, plus his moves are quicker than JVs. His problem in the post is that he can play with blinders on and doesn't show great awareness as far as where the help is coming from. That'll come with time. He's got a good offensive repertoire though.

I don't think these two should be compared until eternity just because they played against each other in several euro teen tournaments. Jonas has bulked up and is looking like a traditional center while Kanter is going the other route; he slimmed down significantly last year and was a reported 240 lbs, and could end up being a PF.